🫑 Beef & Rice Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup rice
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1 onion
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Salt & pepper (pantry staple)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (pantry staple)
Instructions
- Cook rice. Brown beef with onion; stir in rice and half the sauce.
- Halve and seed peppers; fill with the beef mixture.
- Top with remaining sauce and cheese; bake covered at 375°F for 35 min, uncovered 10 more.
Tips
- Covered for the first 35 minutes, uncovered for the last 10. Covered steams the peppers tender, uncovered browns the cheese — doing only one gives you either raw peppers or a burnt top.
- Undercook the rice slightly. It keeps absorbing sauce in the oven, and fully cooked rice going in comes out mushy.
- Halving the peppers lengthwise instead of cutting off the tops cooks faster and is much easier to eat.
Substitutions
- Ground beef
- Turkey, chicken, or Italian sausage (skip the extra seasoning). Lentils or plant mince for vegetarian.
- Rice
- Quinoa, couscous, orzo, or cauliflower rice for low-carb. Any cooked grain works.
- Bell peppers
- Any colour — red and yellow are sweeter, green more bitter. Large tomatoes, courgettes or portobellos stuff the same way with less time.
- Shredded cheese
- Mozzarella, provolone, or a Mexican blend. Feta crumbled on after baking is good too.
Storage & reheating
Keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months. Freeze fully cooked and reheat covered at 350°F for 30 minutes. They also assemble a day ahead — refrigerate unbaked and add 10 minutes.
Common questions
Should I pre-cook the peppers?
Not with this method — 35 minutes covered is enough. If you like them very soft, boil the halves for 3 minutes first.
Why did mine come out watery?
Peppers release water as they cook. Baking cut-side up and draining the beef properly both help; some cooks salt the halves and drain them 15 minutes first.
Can I make them without rice?
Yes — increase the meat and add finely chopped mushrooms or cauliflower to keep the volume. The filling will be denser.